Elmore Leonard On Movies, iPads, And Why 'Freaky Deaky' Is Finally Getting Made

Legendary crime novelist Elmore Leonard began publishing Westerns in the early 50s, and has watched more than a dozen of his books get turned into movies that span the good, the bad, and the ugly. Leonard feels the best–Jackie Brown,Get Shorty and Out of Sight–stuck close to his plots and dialogue. Now, he’s excited that one of his faves, Freaky Deaky, will finally get movie treatment. Leonard’s happy, even though the script by director Charlie Matthau takes major dramatic liberties in changing the time period from late 80s to 1974. Matthau, who’s in Cannes this week with the film’s rep Tom Ortenberg to finalize private financing for a late summer start, said it was Leonard who suggested the time change, which solved a host of problems that haunted past attempts to film the drama about 60s radicals who use their bomb-making skills to become capitalists.

Said Matthau: “We could have left it in 1988, where the characters are kind of old and the period boring. Or we could have contemporized it, made them eco-terrorists, cast out of AARP and made a cross between Easy Rider and Cocoon. Elmore, who read all the other scripts, came up with 1974. It made the cast younger, which made the film an easier sell. And the period was exciting, because it was when these 60s political radicals rejoined society, and there was Patty Hearst and the SLA, and Nixon resigning.”

Said Leonard: “I figured all you would really need is a bunch of older cars. And nobody wants to see a bunch of old fogies.”

Recent Comments

Sounds to me like GOLD COAST, filmed with David Caruso and Marg Helgenberger. In the book, I...

dsims

4 years

While talking about all these past successes of Mr. Elmore Leonard, I think we would be better...

tom

5 years

Knarf- Are you talking about Stick, Burt Reynolds?

Leonard’s happy to lend such practical problem-solving advice to projects as exec producer–he has the same role on the FX series Justified, and is now writing a 60-page Raylon Givens novella that exec producer Graham Yost will likely turn into an episode–but he likes keeping a bit of distance and has been burned enough to hold a love-hate relationship with the film business. On one hand, it’s good pay for a writer whose first movie check was $4000 for 3:10 to Yuma, a haul compared to the 2 cents a word–$90 total–he got when the story was published in a pulp magazine. And while his script work included the Charles Bronson drama Mr. Majestyk, Leonard was so tortured by meddling suits that he swore off ever writing screenplays again.

“I stopped writing scripts in 1993.” he said. “It was just too much work, and there were too many people you had to please. You’d go to an office, and there were always a couple of executives and producers, and they all had something to say. You back to the hotel room, you’re looking at the wall. This was at a time when I needed the money, so I would adapt the scenes according to what they wanted. And the result would be a bad picture, or it wouldn’t be made. No more screenplays for me.”

He hasn’t liked all of the movie adaptations but wouldn’t say exactly which most displeased him. Said Leonard: “There was one book that got done twice and both times badly (The Big Bounce, 52 Pick-Up and 3:10 to Yuma were each turned into multiple films). The movies that worked best stayed fairly close to the books. I’ve seen writers show off in the scripts, even had some come talk to me because they said they wanted to get to know the lead character better. I’d say, everything you need to know is right there on the page. Whenever a movie comes up, I am an eternal optimist who always thinks, ‘well, it’s a good book, it should be easy to adapt.’ There’s nothing you can do when they screw up, except say, ‘oh well,’ and then write another book. That’s the way to do it.”

Leonard, who turns 85 this fall, continues to write every day from 10-6, cranking out his customary three to four pages. He only betrays his age when asked his opinion about the iPad, Kindle, Nook and other devices that are slowly transforming publishing into a paper-less enterprise.

“To me, a book is a book, an electronic device is not, and love of books was the reason I started writing,” Leonard said. “I don’t have a word processor, e-mail, any of that stuff. I write in longhand mostly, then put it on my typewriter as I go along. I don’t have any interest in any of that electronic stuff, but I’m going on 85, and won’t have to worry about it too much longer.”

29 Comments

Love this article. Leonard has been my favorite author for years. At 85, he still consistently writes better dialogue than pretty much any other writer out there.

yonderman • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

Couldn’t agree more. Leonard is a gem.

Will • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

You are so right. The genius of Elmore Leonard is character development and the dialouge, no one in hollywood comes close to him. Look at Out of Sight, the movie with George Clooney. The dialouge was taken right off the pages. Great Book. Movie?

Off Topic Man • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

Leonard’s a treasure, yes, but Jackie Brown’s a good movie?

yonderman • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

Watch it again. My first impression was very similar to yours. Watched it again a few years after it was released and realized it is actually an excellent film. People were expecting Pulp Fiction II when it first came out (myself included), but it is a different type of film. Actually a much more mature film than Pulp Fiction. I’ve seen it several times since then and it still holds up.

max • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

Just watched it last night. It’s a masterpiece that grows on repeated viewings, in my opinion. Those characters are people you might run into (if you’re unlucky, for some of them). When was the last time you saw a film where the lead character was a real, (hot) mid 40’s black woman who fooled everybody?
It’s a slept on classic.
Hope I look and am as sharp as Elmore when/if I’m in my 80s

cst • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

It’s rare for a writer to praise an adaptation of their work, and even rarer for them to praise one made by an “auteur” who imposes his distinctive style on the work.
So, yeah, if Elmore Leonard says JACKIE BROWN is a good movie, it’s a good movie. Don’t argue with him.

Wilson • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

Not just a good movie. A great one.

John • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

Jackie Brown is DEFINITELY a good movie – and QT’s finest film in my opinion thanks to solid ground to work on storywise and top notch performances from the cast. It’s a shame he was disappointed by the box office as QT seems to have regressed into silly little violent cartoons ever since.

Back to Leonard, I have to say that Justified has been an absolute pleasure to watch each week, and I can’t wait to watch it tonight!

Truman • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

Definetely. Not only Jackie Brown is a very good movie, but Tarantino’s best.

I love Elmore Leonard. His peculiar combination of quirky characters and edgy dialog has made him my favorite author for years. He’s had more novels made into movies than anyone else I know. That Hollywood occasionally screws up his little gems doesn’t seem to have slowed him down much. One of my favorite Leonard film adaptations was Touch in 1997 with Skeet Ulrich, Bridget Fonda, and Christopher Walken. I recommend it every chance I get. Off the wall. Very satisfying bit of entertainment.

Smacks • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

I love it. This is one of my favorite Elmore Leonard books with so many great characters in it. I hope they don’t mess it up but I’ll still see it even if they do.

I was recently turned on to “Justified” on FX. If you are a fan of Mr. Leonard and not watching this, you are missing out. You can stream it on Hulu, but the first couple of episodes have already fallen off as FX only keeps them on for a limited time (boo)

Elmore Leonard is one of the reasons I want to write novels. Along with Donald Westlake and Robert B. Parker, the man is one of the three biggest writing influences on my life. He’s a treasure.

Larkin Hill • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

Jackie Brown’s not only a good movie…it’s a great movie.

Chris • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

Elmore Leonard is a truely great writer, he gives a voice to the low lifes and misfits from the underworld that is both endearing and dimensional. Cuba Libre needs to be a movie

8movies5plays • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

Yes Jackie Brown was cool in it took Samuel Jackson on a dramatic peak and Pam Grier from drug courier/flight attendant to fem fatale again.

I didn’t like Get Shorty in the theatre, but it’s a classic compared to most films today.

I don’t know how he writes from 10-6. After two hours I’m tired and bored.

Stick was cool with B reyolds.

Great Storytelling • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

The Best Leonard adaptation is The Tall T, adapted by Burt Kennedy, directed by Bud Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott and Richard Boone. Hollywood hasn’t made a tough guy movie that good in thirty years — do yourself a favor and check it out.

Can you help me find this Elmore Leonard movie? I can’t remember the name but I think it was made in the 80s where this beach bum lives on a Florida beach and he realizes that time has passed him by.

He makes friends with this other man, an old friend or something, and they do a job together. I’m sorry that I can’t remember more details because it has been so long. But it stands out because it is a quieter, yet still engrossing, EL script.

Anyone know the movie to which I refer?

Thank you.

tom • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

Knarf- Are you talking about Stick, Burt Reynolds?

Steve • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

Sounds to me like GOLD COAST, filmed with David Caruso and Marg Helgenberger. In the book, I seem to recall that the protagonist is an ex-con working in a dolphin zoo.

dsims • on May 18, 2010 9:32 am

While talking about all these past successes of Mr. Elmore Leonard, I think we would be better served to examine how “Freaky Deaky” can get completed and on the screen. I had the pleasure of reading the first draft and even it was good. Please….I can not wait to see this on screen.